Stories in Cloth from the Women of South Africa.

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African Textiles

African ThreadsMy passion for embroidered quilt squares and hangings made by women's groups in South Africa who support families with their stitchery. 15% of profits donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers Campaign. Also check out the amazing Zulu bead necklaces!

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This box of threads is a small gift shipped to Thembalethu, a village a in South Africa. Thanks, Maureen O'Connel for donating the postage to ship this box!

I've learned about Thembalethu through a remarkable young Nova Scotian, Catherine Robar. She is one of my heroes.

Catherine has worked in this South African community for about 2 years ago and started the Themba Project With consultations with the elders and community they figured out the priority needs: hunger and shelter. Catherine has devoted her life to raising funds in Nova Scotia to literally transform this community in 2 important ways: with gardens, school uniforms, fruit trees, parks, youth leadership group, feeding the hungry and housing the destitute. The other vital transformation is the re-kindling the spirit of empowerment in the community. Catherine has helped this community take control of their lives.

In January 2010 Catherine's project supplied 66 children with a complete school uniform. The families of these children are very poor and would have to forgo food for many days just to pay for these mandatory school outfits. See this story here

Catherine is one of the top contenders for the CBC's Champions of Change Award which is a Canada wide search for the top volunteers. The top two winners of this award will receive a $25,000 donation towards their charity. Just imagine what this will do in Thembalethu!

http://www.georgeherald.com/news.aspx?id=1746 Veggie growing is sweeter than honey http://www.georgeherald.com/news.aspx?id=1603 Canadian Sows her Seeds

In September of this year, UN member states passed a resolution to move
swiftly to create a new UN agency for women, a move, packaged with a
series of reforms on governance and funding, that they hope will result
in renewed public faith in the UN system. Julia Greenberg, AIDS-Free
World’s associate director, tells the inside story behind the sudden
groundswell in support for the new women’s agency and why the global
community of women living with, and affected by HIV/AIDS, should care.http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/52367This looks like a worthy forum to subscribe to.